Yahoo Groups

A new book by Marina Belozerskaya, entitled The Medici Giraffe, and Other Tales of Exotic Animals and Power, includes a section on ancient elephants. William Grimes reviews it for the New York Times:

Perhaps most compelling, because least familiar, is the story of
Ptolemy Philadelphos, ruler of Egypt in the late third century B.C.
Ptolemy transformed Alexandria into the richest, most cosmopolitan city
in the ancient world, building its famous lighthouse and turning its
museum and library into renowned centers of learning. All was made
possible by his relentless acquisition of elephants.

Alexander
the Great had recognized the military potential of elephants when he
first encountered them in battle against Darius of Persia. Like living
tanks, they confounded the enemy and rolled over massed troops.
Suddenly, the ruler with the most elephants enjoyed a tremendous
tactical advantage.

As it happened, elephants came from India,
and Antiochos of Syria, Ptolemy’s archenemy, controlled the supply. To
achieve parity, Ptolemy sent trading parties all over Africa in search
of alternative sources. In their quest, they forged commercial ties
that enriched Egypt for years to come. They also secured the elephants,
nearly a hundred of them, and a menagerie of exotic animals that, Ms.
Belozerskaya writes, “formed a living library of the natural world,”
and the archetype for modern zoos.

Bernard Rollin cites Plato in furtherance of his views on...the treatment of animals?

“We as human beings want no more from God than what the good
shepherd provides to the sheep,” Rollin said. “If social concern is
going to increase regarding animal treatment, then eventually society
is going to demand a change … What Plato said is: when you’re dealing
with adults and ethics, you cannot teach, you can only remind.”

Incidentally, posting has been/is/will be sporadic for a bit during the transition to a summer routine...Apologies if this is the first site you visit each morning (smirk!)...

The well-respected Christian Science Monitortraces the history of the "Coq Gaulois," reporting that it preserves its pristine nature:

That history goes back a long way - to Roman times, say breeders, when one of Julius Caesar's companions wrote a description of the cockerels he found in the farmyards of ancient Gaul that corresponds exactly to the way the Gallic Cock looks today.

"It is the only race that has developed naturally without ever being crossed by breeders," says Gresselin, looking on indulgently as his rooster flaps its way onto the gate of its coop and hops down into a meadow beyond the chicken wire. "It's the original wild animal."